Battle Horse

Chapter Twenty Five

    "Easy, Ena. He must take it slow for a while." Bob warned her. Ena nodded and slowly led Dancer out of his paddock. They were moving him and Alroy to a new pasture. Dancer needed to spread his legs, and Alroy wasn't too fond of being cooped up either. It had been a little over a week since the search party had come in search of the horse and the girl. Bob and Ena had been careful to cover any traces of Ena and watched diligently each night for people watching them. They didn't want any trouble, which was a bit hard to ask for when they had technically stolen the Kings property. They couldn't keep Dancer hidden forever however. Ena and Bob both knew that they would be discovered eventually. So Ena was secretly planning behind Bob's back. She and Dancer would leave for Celtica as soon as Dancers leg was healed. She couldn't continue to ruin Bob's reputation. He was the most trusted horse master, that was why he was the ranger horse master. But by hiding Ena and Dancer, he was betraying everyone's trust. It was only a matter of time before the ranger commandment discovered them.

"Ena?" Bob snapped his fingers in front of her face to wake her up. "Away with the fairies are you?" He teased. Ena gave him a small smile.

"You know me, Bob. The fairies are my best friends." She retorted. He rolled his eyes.

"Well Dancer seems alright out here. Let's head in for dinner." He said. "Caught a nice brace of connys in the trap this morning." 

"Nothing like a good rabbit stew to perk you up." She smiled.

"That's right." He said grinning, patting his stomach.

   The two of them headed back to the house, where Bob began on preparing the stew and Ena set the table. Ever since Ena came to Bob's house, it had been a lot neater. Ena didn't like a messy house. She made Bob clean up his act. They ate every meal at the table, with no exception. She even got Bob to start making his bed every morning. A vase of wild flowers was at the centre of the table, brightening the room. 

  An hour later, the two of them were full of the delicious stew. Bob had learned how to make it from the many rangers that dropped by every so often. Ena loved it, and it was her new favourite meal.

Ena was just about to clear the table, when a loud pounding came from the door. Bob slowly stood, pushing back his chair, Ena following his example. As he headed to the door, she headed to her room. Right before she reached for the knob, the door burst open, revealing a frustrated Horace. His face was red with anger.

"Horace..." her voice sounded small. He cut her off.

"Save it, En. You have a lot of explaining to do." He growled. Ena turned to Bob, biting her lip.

"May we please have a word in private?" She asked Bob. He nodded.

"Of course. I'll just go check on the horses." He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. The second he shut the door, Horace turned his furious gaze on her.

"Do you realize how much you've put us all through the past two weeks? I've been through hell and back looking for you! I didn't have a good lead until a week ago when I came here. The old goat said he lived alone, but two beds had been slept in." He said, clearly irritated.

"I'm sorry! I had to get Dancer out of there!" She retorted.

"Really? That's all? I haven't had a goodnight sleep in two weeks worrying about you! Ulf won't even come out of his chambers anymore! He thinks it's his fault." Horace said.

"He killed my father!" She said angrily.

"There was nothing he could do, Ena!"

"Well he's not innocent, Horace!" She snapped.

"What's the real reason you left?" He demanded.

"I needed to get Dancer out of Redmont! Ulf was going to kill him!"

"Really? This whole thing is over one stupid horse?" He scoffed.

"You wouldn't understand! Everyone knows you have no heart. You're just a bully." She growled. He glared at her.

"En, I love Kicker, just as much as you love Dancer. But I would never leave you over him!" He insisted, grabbing both her her hands in his own. She dropped her gaze, her heart softening at his words. He slipped a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes were filled to the brim with tears, threatening to spill over. "We're family, Ena. Family doesn't leave each other over a horse." She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the statement.

"I would never leave you, Horace. Honest."She said. He let out a sigh.

"But you did. You left me, you left George, you left Jenny, Alyss, and Will. We're not just your ward mates, En. We're your family." He said. She began to feel tears build up in her eyes. Ever since she lost her father, she thought she would never love another as family again. Horace proved her wrong. A tear slid down his cheek. She let her own tears fall freely, and Horace pulled her too his chest. She melted into his embrace, openly sobbing into his shirt. He pressed his lips to her forehead and ran his hand through her dark hair.

"I'm sorry, Horace." She sobbed. "I'm so sorry!" He let out a shuddering breath, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Just never leave me again." He insisted. She sniffed and nodded stiffly.

"I promise." She said. He pulled back slightly, his hand cupping her cheek.

"We have a slight problem though..." He said. She bit her lip, knowing what he meant.

"I stole the kings property." She said stiffly.

"You can't come home yet, En. We'll figure something out. I'll talk to Ulf. He doesn't want you arrested, So I know I can trust him. We'll get you home." He promised. She let out a sigh and thought about returning the Redmont. As great as the past few weeks had been for her, She was finally starting to realize how much she missed her home. 

"Alright. I'll come home, but only once things settle down." She said. Horace gave her a sad look.

"Ena, we're entering another war. Morgarath is back." He said darkly. Her heart dropped. The last war was almost sixteen years ago, and many innocent people had been killed.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"Will returned from the Ruins of Gorlan. Halt, Baron, and Sir Rodney were attacked there while trying to defeat the Kalkara. Will took down one, but Morgarath is gathering his Wargals at the Three step pass." Horace explained.

"Well I need to get home sooner than. Ulf will need everyone to help with the horses." She said. Horace shook his head, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"If you go back now, you'll be arrested. Let me figure something out. I'll come fetch you when I know it's safe." He said quietly. Ena reluctantly nodded.

"Yes, yes of course."

"Good. Now stay here. Keep doing whatever the old Goat is having you do. I'll be back as soon as I can." She nodded once more. He gave her a small smile and one last hug before leaving her alone to think about everything.

***

I know it's been forever! I was really stuck on this book, but I figured it out, so it should be okay for a bit. The app has decided to be mean to me and won't let me type on there anymore, so I can only type when I get my turn on the laptop. While I was writing this, I forgot to save and lost the whole chapter, so this is the second version of the chapter. It sucks since the first was much better. But stay with me on this, hopefully I can get the app to work for me soon! 

Please don't forget to check out my new book, Forgotten Ruins, that I'm co-writing with SilverOakleaf!

Love you all! Please comment and vote!

~Avis